Yeah, sorry that. The Banksy people called me & told me to take it down! Wooooopsie.
Easier to apologize than ask permission, etc etc.
Anyhoo, the location should be up on their web site now–it’s after midnight.

I’m not even a PETA member or anything… but the painted elephant makes me extremely uncomfortable. Somebody alert them, this is completely unnecessary and hardly ‘art.’ Get over yourself. A human being could choose whether or not they wanted to be painted. This animal cannot not and I doubt it would agree to if it could talk. It’s not comfortable being covered with paint. Somebody report this a**hole…

– to the LA ASPCA
– to my local newspaper
– to PETA
– to Joaquin Phoenix’s IMDB.com message board*

The guy at ASPCA told me that if he has an animal in a warehouse, he has to have a permit. If he is painting the animal, he most likely does not have a permit. Or at least we can hope. He said they would check it out. I really hope this gets shut down, and fast.

Banksy is clearly full of himself, so full that he cannot see the hypocrisy of this ‘show’ that’s supposed to be address issues of injustice? WTF?!! Get real and get over yourself, Mr. Banksy.

Oooooh, look out, Banksy! Joaquin Phoenix fans are going to be pissed at you! Now you’ll never be famous and rich!
(Is it really any surprise that PETA supporters are hypocrites? The organization spends millions on advertising and lame, destructive publicity stunts, yet claims they can’t afford to operate no-kill shelters? PETA kills animals every day.)

The fact that it’s done in India does NOT make it right. No person or creature should be painted and placed in a confined space to be gawked at by whomever is willing to pay an admission fee. The artist is making money off of the exploitation and abuse of this animal.

Oh, really?!!! You know this because you’ve been covered with paint, drugged and made to stand in a small area while people milled about and pretended to be art sophisticates? Perhaps you should volunteer as a stand-in for the elephant. The fact that you would give your consent (something this elephant obviously didn’t do) would make a difference.

I think that if you have an opinion you’re willing to stand up for, you should present it as your own, not hide behind multiple names.

I don’t care for animals being used as live art installations – not necessarily because of the paint part (though it seems like a lot of paint, but I don’t have enough information to form an opinion about it one way or another), but because people are unpredictable and so are elephants.

I also saw a rotting head of lettuce on large spike displayed as a piece of art at the Temporary Contemporary. I didn’t like that either.

The paint used on the elephant is non-toxic and water soluable, so it will not hurt her in any way. Moreover, she’s on display like that for only a few hours and afterward gets full baths. All of the necessary permits and precautions have been taken, so Banksy and the elephant handlers have covered all bases, plus there are qualified trainers there to tend to the elephant’s every need the entire time.

“The paint used on the elephant is non-toxic and water soluable, so it will not hurt her in any way”

Just curious where you got the info on the paint. I’ve been looking all over for it just to make myself feel a bit better about the poor elephant being circused in front of many LA ppl. It’s funny. The elephant in the room at Banksy’s show isn’t just one, but many in the guise of people. You should see them.

Peta people are often misinformed. Opportunities like this can go a long way to support a large animal’s cost of living requirements. There’s a group of elephants in Thailand that have been taught to play musical instruments together as an orchestra. They say they really seem to enjoy it and they have a cd out called the Thai Elephant Orchestra, Funds from its sale go a long way to support them and prevent them from being used in hard labor. Here’s a review

This is, I believe, the first CD ever recorded of instrumental music featuring non-human players. It’s a project of the Thai Elephant Conservation Center, a government facility in which domestic elephants are making the transition from forest workers to interspecies ambassadors. In keeping with the center’s exploration of human-elephant interaction, a set of instruments were designed with the elephants’ particular dexterity and strength in mind. The resulting music is uniquely fascinating.

The overall sound is that of a spacy gamelon orchestra, but as producer Lair’s lively notes make clear, the elephant players were not just banging randomly. There is a spaciousness that immediately reflects awareness of the group interplay, and many specific examples of discrete care and discovery on the part of the elephants. Luuk Kob, the “Buddy Rich of elephant percussionists
“, redeemed a failed slit drum by discovering its one sweet spot and learning to strike it at the precise angle that would yield an optimum sound. Meanwhile, harmonicas became “the first elephant music fad”, with the animals wandering the forest playing through the tips of their trunks.

The disc includes 12 pieces played by the Elephant Orchestra (with humans cueing the start and stop on each instrument, but the elephants choosing all the notes and rhythms), along with six tracks involving more human collaboration and a burst of pure elephant vocalization. All in all, a compelling testimony to the creative impulse in our mammalian brethren.

I also think that it is extremely cruel to paint an unwilling, unknowing animal- and then be arrogant enough to assume that it does nothing to affect the animal! what a jerk… there is enough stuff out there to make art out of, that you dont have to go exploiting poor innocent animals Blansky! you should do more “art” on the ever tragic paris…

To EarthtoMoon- just so you know, animals DO have feelings also you idiot! so whatever the “it is still an animal” comment meant, it was a pathetic comment at best. pathetic and tragically uninformed. afterall, you are “just a person”, so what is the difference!?!?!

Is the animal attacking anyone? No. Is the animal acting out? No. He is happy and being fed. When he poops people clean up after him. he is fine so stop worrying about the elephant and enjoy modern art. Thank you.

Is the animal attacking anyone? No. Is the animal acting out? No. He is happy and being fed. When he poops people clean up after him. he is fine so stop worrying about the elephant and enjoy modern art. Thank you.